IMF mission to continue work in Ukraine until February 11

The mission of the International Monetary Fund that arrived in Ukraine on January 8 has extended the period of its work until February 11 due to the complex negotiating process over required reforms, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmytro Shymkiv said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

REUTERS

"The new program is designed for four years. Since the negotiations are quite hard and [are carried out] almost 24 hours a day, the mission has extended its work until February 11," he said.

According to Shymkiv, the coordination of the program includes a number of reforms in the energy, financial, social and other sectors that are the subject of discussion between the government and the IMF mission.

"I will not disclose the details of the negotiation process,” Shymkiv said.

“There is he point of view of the government, and there is the point of view of the representatives of the IMF. There is a debate. I will not disclose the nuances of this discussion."

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko said that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a medium-term program of financial assistance for Ukraine, designed for 3-4 years and including a plan of necessary reforms, could be reached in a few days.

In mid-January, the government of Ukraine appealed to the board of IMF Executive Directors with the request that it consider a new cooperation program under the Enhanced Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which provides for the allocation of a significant amount of funds for periods of up to four years.

At the moment, Ukraine and IMF are implementing a two-year Stand-by program approved by IMF in April 2014 and worth a total of USD 17 billion. In 2014, Ukraine received two tranches of IMF loans amounting to $4.6 billion.

The total amount of assistance Ukraine received from various sources in 2014 is up to $9 billion, while it paid $14 billion of debt liabilities coming due last year.

In 2015, the amount of debt payment made by Ukraine is expected at around $11 billion.

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